Eni to start digging offshore Egypt in January 2016

Monday, 07 September 2015 06:06

Eni wants to start digging to benefit from the discovery as soon as possible. (Image source: www.dragonoil.com/Wikimedia Commons)Eni plans to start digging early next year in the ‘super giant’ gas field it recently discovered offshore Egypt

Digging operations in the natural gas field off the country’s Mediterranean coast will start in January 2016, said Lapo Pistelli, V-P of the Italian company. Eni wants to start work in the field to be able to benefit from the big discovery as soon as possible, Pistelli added, noting that this would also have a positive impact on the Egyptian economy.

The technology Eni used to explore for natural gas in the deep waters enabled it to go as deep as 4,200 meters below the water’s surface. According to Pistelli, the new discovery offshore Egypt could be just the beginning of bigger findings in even deeper waters of the same field.

Along with helping to meet Egypt’s energy needs for decades to come, the new gas find is also expected to help European countries that are trying to diversify their sources of energy.

Eni had discovered a gas field offshore Egypt’s Mediterranean coast about a week ago that could potentially hold 30 tcf of natural gas, making it one of the biggest finds in the world.